Speaker Vote: Dave Joyce to file resolution to empower McHenry’s powers as pro tempore

Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is planning to file a motion Wednesday to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) in his position following Rep. Jim Jordan‘s (R-OH) failure to secure the speaker’s gavel on Tuesday.

“After two weeks without a Speaker of the House and no clear candidate with 217 votes in the Republican conference, it is time to look at other viable options. By empowering Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore, we can take care of our ally Israel until a new Speaker is elected,” Joyce said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

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It is unclear how broadly Joyce’s motion will seek to empower McHenry — or for how long. Republican holdouts to Jordan’s bid for the speaker’s gavel have previously floated expanding McHenry’s powers as the House has been without a speaker for over two weeks following the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Jordan saw 20 Republican defections during the first-floor vote Tuesday, which was more than his allies had been predicting.

A source familiar with Mchenry’s thinking indicated that the North Carolina Republican doesn’t have interest in being speaker, even on a temporary basis. He further hasn’t been involved in talks to elevate him in the role. Rather, McHenry is entirely focused on electing Jordan to the post.

The measure would notably still need 217 votes to pass. It would likely need to rely on some Democratic support in order to succeed, and lawmakers across the aisle have yet to react much to the idea. There is some hope that a bipartisan coalition could back the motion, as Democratic leaders have discussed supporting McHenry being given temporary speaker powers. That being said, it remains unclear whether the resolution would have enough support to pass if filed Wednesday like Joyce plans.

While the Republican conference struggles to coalesce behind a speaker candidate, particularly with a thin majority and a lower threshold required to force a vote on a motion to vacate, several pressing matters are piling up.

After barely averting a government shutdown last month by passing a short-term 45-day continuing resolution, the House still needs to address several appropriations measures, which are sure to be disagreed upon between the current factions of the Republican Party. United States ally Israel is also dealing with a war following a terrorist attack by the terrorist organization Hamas and requires urgent supplemental aid, which Congress must pass.

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The paralyzation further threatens the already small GOP majority going into 2024, with strategists agreeing that the party is projecting an image of dysfunction to voters while Democrats are remaining unified.

If the resolution to empower McHenry is passed, it could put him in the role through the end of the year or into the beginning of 2024. It could additionally place him in the role until the conference is able to successfully elect another speaker.